Shifter (Mod)
Shifter is an unofficial mod for Deus Ex, which alters the rules of the game and adds new features. Overview Shifter re-integrates a few features which were left out of the game, but were later found in the game's source code. For one example, after rescuing Ford Schick from MJ-12, he's supposed to appear in Smuggler's hideout - and he even gives you an augmentation upgrade canister. This makes saving him worth it, but it doesn't actually happen, so in Shifter, it does. Another example is at the airfield's helicopter bay in one of the offices. JC is supposed to overhear a conversation between Lebedev and Tracer Tong in which Tong is telling Lebedev to kill JC, but Lebedev is insisting that JC can be convinced to change sides. This has been moved around since being brought back. Also, Shifter adds a handful of customized weapons, a feature that gives skill points for kills (and a stealth bonus, if applicable, at the end of each level). Shifter also contains a modified multiplayer game featuring additional selectable player models and a new inventory system. The new system allocates 6 slots to weapons, with each weapon taking up a varying number of slots based on the weapon's size. Due to these and other changes, it is not possible to join unmodified multiplayer servers while Shifter is installed. Author Yukichigai's mission statement is as follows: Shifter is my attempt at "removing the suck" from Deus Ex, what little of it there is. There are some annoying aspects of the game system, unresolved glitches, and a minor helping of unrealized potential scattered throughout this groundbreaking game. Shifter attempts to address those issues. As one person put it, paraphrased, Shifter doesn't add new content so much as improve the existing content. Shifter makes Deus Ex what it should have been, or at least one interpretation of what it should have been. New Weapons *'Blackjack' - A normal baton filled with a hard substance, either lead or rebar. It does more damage than standard batons. It can be found in one of three locations, depending on JC's actions: In Paul's apartment during the player's first visit to Hell's Kitchen, on Paul's dead body in the Majestic 12 base under UNATCO HQ, or inside Paul's room at the 'Ton on JC's final visit to Hell's Kitchen. *'Boomstick' - A more powerful Sawed-off shotgun, with a slower pump and reload animation. Found in Jock's Apartment in Hong Kong. *'Internal Light Anti-Personnel Weapon', or iLaw - A custom rocket launcher which uses Light Rockets ("L-Rockets") as opposed to normal ones. L-Rockets don't do the same extreme damage as normal rockets or LAMs, but are the same ammo used by MJ-12 Commandos, making them much easier to obtain. The iLAW is found under the same Hell's Kitchen MJ12 lab that Ford Schick was held under, but on later visits, is collapsed. The iLAW is under some fallen rocks. An additional iLaw can be found in VersaLife's Pacific Rim Research Facility in Hong Kong, but only if the player returns after obtaining the Dragon's Tooth Sword's ROM Encoding specifications—specifically, when the facility is much more heavily guarded. *'Jackhammer' - The mod adds in a special shotgun, the Jackhammer, behind a garage door triggered by Laser Tripwires in front of Smuggler's hideout. The Jackhammer has an extreme rate of fire, so fast that pulling the trigger once will shoot 5 shotgun shells instantly. Once upgraded, the Jackhammer can do incredible amounts of damage in a short time period, although it can go through all of the players shotgun ammo in under a minute, and the lengthy reload time arguably wastes more time than the Sawed-off shotgun's pumping does. *'Magnum' - A special 10mm Pistol that is found on Lebedev's 747 at LaGuardia Airport. The Magnum does more damage than standard 10mm's. *'Lo Bruto' - A special Stealth pistol forged by JoJo Fine. It can only be obtained by taking it from his body. *'Precision Rifle' - A heavily modified sniper rifle, boasting a very low shot time and a blue-tinted high-contrast scope which will highlight visible enemies. It can be found inside the foreman's shack on top of the building where JC makes his first arrival in Paris. *'Prototype Nanoswords, Mark I, II and III'. All are prototypes for the mark IV, the Dragon's Tooth Sword, but they take up 3 squares in the inventory as opposed to 4 in the DTS. The Mark I does the most damage per swing when fully charged, but it also presents the most variance in damage, fluctuating between the uncharged, partially charged, and fully charged states at random; further prototypes reduce max damage but also increase the stability. **The Mark I can be found in one of two locations, depending on whether or not Paul dies in the raid on the 'Ton: on the unconscious body of Agent Sherman, the Man in Black in charge of the MJ12 base below the UNATCO HQ, or on top of a shipping container near the back entrance to Smuggler's hideout on JC's final return to Hell's Kitchen. Paul also carries this weapon prior to JC's capture by UNATCO, except during the initial mission, and may be seen using it in combat. **The Mark II can be found on a dead scientist in the sunken tunnels under Hong Kong **The Mark III can be found in the PRCS Wall Cloud. *'Railgun' - A Modified Plasma Rifle that can see through, and fire through walls. It is an instant kill on all non-augmented humanoid enemies, but uses 4 plasma cells per shot and must be reloaded after each shot. It can be found in the house of a weapon smuggler in the Champs-Elysses in Paris. *'Toxin Blade' - A combat knife dipped in poison, which causes limited paralysis on contact. It can be found under Smuggler's pillow during JC's first visit to Hell's Kitchen. Notes *Shifter requires only that the player be using either the Deus Ex: Game of the Year Edition (often referred to as GOTY) or the retail version of the game with the 1.112fm patch, which can be downloaded at the Eidos site or various other game file hosts. It includes two files, DEUSEX.U and DEUSEX.INT, and these must replace the ones in the DeusEx\System folder. These must be backed up or moved to another location if you wish to remove Shifter without reinstalling the game. Replacing the files with the ones in the Shifter download will upgrade Deus Ex to Deus Ex with Shifter. *There is also one catch. Save games are not compatible between your unmodified game and Shifter, so you will need to start from the beginning. If you call it a catch, Shifter also prevents some of the more popular exploits. You will no longer be able to sell your Pistol skill at the beginning for 1250 more skill points. You will no longer be able to use one lockpick and go into the menu. And you shouldn't be able to keep getting 100 skill points by using the switches at Vandenberg. Category:Mods